This invention relates to a process for treating waste streams from a N-phosphonomethylglycine facility, and more particularly, relates to a method for treating such waste streams using formaldehyde and oxygen with a transition metal catalyst.
N-phosphonomethylglycine, known in the agricultural chemical art as glyphosate, is a highly effective and commercially important phytotoxicant useful in controlling the growth of germinating seeds, emerging seedlings, maturing and established woody and herbaceous vegetation, and aquatic plants. N-phosphonomethylglycine and salts thereof are conveniently applied in the form of an aqueous solution as a postemergent phytotoxicant or herbicide for the control of one or more monocotyledonous species and one or more dicotyledonous species. Moreover, such compounds are characterized by broad spectrum activity, i.e., they control the growth of a wide variety of plants, including but not limited to ferns, conifers, aquatic monocotyledons, and dicotyledons.